16:7 I will praise 1 the Lord who 2 guides 3 me;
yes, during the night I reflect and learn. 4
33:19 by saving their lives from death 5
and sustaining them during times of famine. 6
55:17 During the evening, morning, and noontime
I will lament and moan, 7
and he will hear 8 me. 9
63:6 whenever 10 I remember you on my bed,
and think about you during the nighttime hours.
119:55 I remember your name during the night, O Lord,
and I will keep 11 your law.
127:4 Sons born during one’s youth
are like arrows in a warrior’s hand. 12
1 tn Heb “bless,” that is, “proclaim as worthy of praise.”
2 tn Or “because.”
3 tn Or “counsels, advises.”
4 tn Heb “yes, [during] nights my kidneys instruct [or “correct”] me.” The “kidneys” are viewed here as the seat of the psalmist’s moral character (see Ps 26:2). In the quiet darkness the
5 tn Heb “to save from death their live[s].”
6 tn Heb “and to keep them alive in famine.”
7 tn The first verb is clearly a cohortative form, expressing the psalmist’s resolve. The second verb, while formally ambiguous, should also be understood as cohortative here.
8 tn The prefixed verb with vav (ו) consecutive normally appears in narrational contexts to indicate past action, but here it continues the anticipatory (future) perspective of the preceding line. In Ps 77:6 one finds the same sequence of cohortative + prefixed verbal form with vav (ו) consecutive. In this case as well, both forms refer to future actions.
9 tn Heb “my voice.”
10 tn The Hebrew term אִם (’im) is used here in the sense of “when; whenever,” as in Ps 78:34.
11 tn The cohortative verbal form expresses the psalmist’s resolve to obey the law.
12 tn Heb “like arrows in the hand of a warrior, so [are] sons of youth.” Arrows are used in combat to defend oneself against enemies; sons are viewed here as providing social security and protection (see v. 5). The phrase “sons of youth” is elliptical, meaning “sons [born during the father’s] youth.” Such sons will have grown up to be mature adults and will have children of their own by the time the father reaches old age and becomes vulnerable to enemies. Contrast the phrase “son of old age” in Gen 37:3 (see also 44:20), which refers to Jacob’s age when Joseph was born.